This week is a week where we are commanded to Re’eh, רְאֵה, to See. See can mean a visual command, it can also indicate a question; do you understand? But which ‘you’ is the question.
Let’s look at the first verse: “See, I present before you today, a blessing and a curse.” This is such a thought-provoking verse, but its implications are perhaps not as clear in English as they are in Hebrew.
In English the word ‘you’ can imply both a singular or a plural listener. In Hebrew, in this verse, the command Re’eh (See) is directed to the singular listener, but is immediately followed by the phrase lifneichem, before you, but now the word ‘you’ is the plural ‘you’.
Implying that both the singular and plural ‘yous’ are equally commanded is an intriguing conjunction of responsibility. It implies that each one of us lives not only within our collective whole, but that we are mutually responsible for each other, and mutually have effect upon each other. We can think of science here: the butterfly effect for example. From AI: Essentially, a tiny action in the initial stages of a system can trigger a chain of events, resulting in significant and sometimes unpredictable outcomes later on.
Torah is very consistent in telling us that each one of us matters, that the choices each of us makes influences our collective sensibility and well-being. We read later in this parashah, in 13:1: “The entire word that I command you, that you shall observe to do; you shall not add to it, and you shall not subtract from it.” You is plural. The entire word? Kol hadavar? All the word, singular. All the words are one, singular, echad. Torah is actually a Physics textbook it would seem!!
Come and join us this coming Friday evening, in comfort and in song,
Much love,
Rabbi Lynn
Re’eh
August 17, 2025 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk
This week is a week where we are commanded to Re’eh, רְאֵה, to See. See can mean a visual command, it can also indicate a question; do you understand? But which ‘you’ is the question.
Let’s look at the first verse: “See, I present before you today, a blessing and a curse.” This is such a thought-provoking verse, but its implications are perhaps not as clear in English as they are in Hebrew.
In English the word ‘you’ can imply both a singular or a plural listener. In Hebrew, in this verse, the command Re’eh (See) is directed to the singular listener, but is immediately followed by the phrase lifneichem, before you, but now the word ‘you’ is the plural ‘you’.
Implying that both the singular and plural ‘yous’ are equally commanded is an intriguing conjunction of responsibility. It implies that each one of us lives not only within our collective whole, but that we are mutually responsible for each other, and mutually have effect upon each other. We can think of science here: the butterfly effect for example. From AI: Essentially, a tiny action in the initial stages of a system can trigger a chain of events, resulting in significant and sometimes unpredictable outcomes later on.
Torah is very consistent in telling us that each one of us matters, that the choices each of us makes influences our collective sensibility and well-being. We read later in this parashah, in 13:1: “The entire word that I command you, that you shall observe to do; you shall not add to it, and you shall not subtract from it.” You is plural. The entire word? Kol hadavar? All the word, singular. All the words are one, singular, echad. Torah is actually a Physics textbook it would seem!!
Come and join us this coming Friday evening, in comfort and in song,
Much love,
Rabbi Lynn